FOR THE LOVE OF METAL
A beautiful full-colour, hardcover affair, this perfect-bound 270-plus page coffee table piece is as extravagant and captivating as it is compelling, informative and exciting. From essays by the authors/cameramen to reflective contributions from genre mainstays including Robb Flynn, Alex Skolnick and Gary Holt, there’s an inescapable air of enthusiasm, adoration and importance to Murder In The Front Row.
For 135 minutes, this film tells the story of the beginning, the rise, the success, the excess, the triumph and the establishment of the institution that has become Ozzy Osbourne.
On July 10, 2011 Toronto heavy rockers Cancer Bats went through some changes. Liam Cormier, Scott Middleton, Mike Peters and Jaye Schwarzer were swept into a void at the Sonisphere Festival in Stevenage, England, and when they re-emerged they became… Bat Sabbath, a hardcore Black Sabbath cover band. The Bat’s set, which was meant to be a one-off post-Slipknot after-party, attracted 5,000 bangers. More importantly, it captured the imagination of promoters. As such, starting this December, inbetween recording sessions for their fourth full-length album, Bat Sabbath will once again emerge from that hole in the sky and perform 11 dates across central Ontario and Quebec.
Aaron Brophy interviews Bat Sabbath’s Liam Cormier about this upcoming December tour
The Diary Of A Madman reissue is the one that every Ozzy fan should own.
Today’s Hellbound staff interview is with Waterloo ON’s Bill Adams
Today’s staff interview is with Hellbound photographer and contributor Albert Mansour
Listeners and long-time fans will be absolutely thrilled by this updated presentation of Blizzard Of Ozz because it does do a service to the songs – but the catch is that they have to make it by the re-treatment of “Crazy Train” to do it, and that may be a greater accomplishment than many might suspect.
“‘Six Pack Witchcraft’ is a full speed ahead, red lining, sing-a-long track that will have you pounding your fist on the bar, and possibly your pint glass as well. For ‘Go F*** Yourself’ the band moves back into a more old school black metal feel with production so thick you’d almost think the band had recorded with the microphones set up on the other side of a mattress.”
Jason Wellwood reviews the latest album from MAAX, a blackened rock and roll album reminiscent of Motorhead vs Darkthrone.
“The setlist was great: Perfectly selected songs from his solo stuff, like “Let Me Hear You Scream,” “Crazy Train,” “Bark at the Moon,” and “Mr. Crowley” and some Black Sabbath tunes like “Faries Wear Boots” and of course, “War Pigs.” I haven’t followed his solo career too much since I was about 11 or 12 when one of my older brothers (who is now a classical musician) brought home his first solo album, so this was a great set list for those who were enamored with the legend more than his musical catalogue.”
Laina Dawes reviews the November 27th show by OZZY and HALFORD at Toronto’s Air Canada Centre. She took all the cool pics too.
“When I think about us being four young guys who started a band in high school and now we’re sharing a stage with Ozzy Osbourne and Motley Crue, I think that’s pretty crazy! We look at each other and think, ‘man, that’s pretty awesome!’ compared to where we came from. Every year it seemed like it grew a little bigger and it took a little while for us to become serious about playing music. We started Kataklysm more as a hobby, we wanted just to have fun, hang out, to tour and see the world and party with a lot of people. After awhile you see that your career is doing better and you realize that ‘wow, this can be your daily job’ and that’s how it’s been for the last 8 years or so.”
Jason Wellwood in conversation with KATAKLYSM’s J-F Dagenais